The more I research this group the more fascinating they were. In my opinion they had it all.....the necessary political protection, connections to the finance world, prostitution, gambling and the biggest asset of them all.......CONTROL OF THE PORT OF L.A. / LONG BEACH.......the grand prize of grand prizes.

I`ve said this before........over at the "other side" (aka LA Crimefile, before I "retired") hehehe This what the Crips and Bloods should be aspiring to.

Man, they had access to all the contracts from the City as well as those huge railroad systems Santa Fe, Pacific Electric, Southern Pacific etc.

The thought of having that much on my plate makes me want to run to the bathroom and relieve myself. Hehehe.

Parrot was an upper echelon operator, he didn't dirty his hands directly but he provided the contacts neccessary to keep things moving. Parrot was a protege of Byron Waters the dean of the courthouse gang.

I first became aware of Parrott when I was still in SF circa 1993. I first heard of him in that book called "Roselli" or something like that. To make a long story short Parrott seemed like the person behind the curtain a la Abe Ruef, Pendergast, Boss Shepherd etc. or a person like Larner or Rothstein. I wasn`t sure.

This should be a fascinating study.

PS: Over at the "sista site" I got a short topic going with Shakti et als. concerning Slim Helu and others like him. Shakti likened Helu to Mischler, which I think is a good anology. Any thoughts?

Parrott had alot of power but it all was derived from his association with the courthouse gang and that meant Byron Waters. Waters had been around for decades and I mean decades. Waters was an old southern gentleman from Georgia who moved west and began assembling power in the Republican party. His uncle James W. Waters was an old west trapper of legendary status. Byron Waters was a ruff and tumble personality who once fought the father of Wyatt Earp on a southern California street. Waters left southern California in the 1890s and opened a law office in San Francisco. From here his power on the state level grew and grew. He later returned to southern California and became the dean of USC law. He tutored Kent Kane Parrot, Judge Benjamin Bledsoe and many many others.

Abe Reuf and Kent Kane Parrot truly were opposites in mannerism, stature, and the way in which they came to power. Reuf was a native of San Francisco's upper-middle class Jewish community and the window in which he exerted the greatest influence was rather brief. Parrot on the otherhand was an athletic native of Maine. He arrived in California to attend USC as Reuf and his labor party were seizing power in San Francisco. Parrot aligned himself with the Republican machine known as the Courthouse gang. Over the course of 35 years Parrot remained at or near the pinnicle of power in Los Angeles. His associates included politicians, fellow lawyers and crime figures whereas Reuf's key allies were in labor circles and politics. Reuf truly had no machine and Parrot was a member of a long established system of corruption and power but neither ever truly stood on their own

No, they didn't front for Southern Pacific. The majority of the players within the city hall gang were in place before the railroad arrived. For instance Byron Waters was very much influential in securing land for Santa Fe's expansion. The amount of influence they wielded wasn't limited to the Los Angeles area but extended to the capitol where Waters secured the nomination and election of Robert Waterman with the help of Seth Marshall. Much like the situation which occured with Ronald Regan, Waters and Marshall arranged a land deal which transfered the 1,600 acre Waterman ranch to Marshall providing Waterman with the fortune he needed to secure respect and power in business circles.